WITH THE AUSTRALIANS IN THE BORNEO CAMPAIGNS 1945

Synopsis

Troops moving inland. Brief shot of troop carrier 'Jungle Juice'. Australian tanks and equipment moving up. Various troops at rest and drinking tea. MS of Brigadier S H W C Porter (commanding 24 Brigade Group, 9th Australian Division) in discussion with fellow officer who is holding a map. Old British cemetery. The Union Flag, attached to a makeshift pole, is raised by a group of soldiers (in the style of Mount Suribachi/Iwo Jima). Location is possibly Flagstaff Hill (?). They cheer and raise…

Troops moving inland. Brief shot of troop carrier 'Jungle Juice'. Australian tanks and equipment moving up. Various troops at rest and drinking tea. MS of Brigadier S H W C Porter (commanding 24 Brigade Group, 9th Australian Division) in discussion with fellow officer who is holding a map. Old British cemetery. The Union Flag, attached to a makeshift pole, is raised by a group of soldiers (in the style of Mount Suribachi/Iwo Jima). Location is possibly Flagstaff Hill (?). They cheer and raise their hats. Soldiers at rest amongst trees. A sign with a RAF roundel and the words Safe Hand hangs on a bush.

LST 53 stands just offshore and lowers ramp. A Liberator (?) flies over the scene. Bulldozers and other equipment drive ashore through waist deep water, as men wade out to assist. One vehicle becomes stranded and is towed out by a bulldozer. LSI (with LST 941 no. 1 painted on ramp) beaches next to LST 53 and men disembark. LST 52 waits offshore. LSI moves away rapidly to allow another LSI (with LST 941 no. 2 painted on ramp) to approach and beach. General Douglas MacArthur and accompanying officers disembark (10 June). A soldier points out where to step and MacArthur jumps the gap between the ramp and water's edge.

MacArthur with Lieutenant-General Sir Leslie Morshead (GOC I Australian Corps) survey the area. A US photographer takes pictures. Brigadier Porter shakes hands with MacArthur and Porter shows a map he is holding. MacArthur and Morshead are given a guided tour. MacArthur lights his pipe while in discussion with other officers (including Lieutenant-Colonel M R Jeanes CO 2/43rd Battalion, standing opposite MacArthur and to the extreme left of the frame). Australian troops move up behind a tank along a narrow road. Two dead Japanese in roadside ditch. MacArthur and Morshead together with escort return to LSI (LST 941 no. 2) and depart.

Off shore, on board an LCI, the camera passes a moored Catalina Flying Boat and surveys a waterside village. The craft comes alongside a jetty. US Marines in a devastated town, probably caused by air and naval bombardment. Two Australian soldiers jokingly post a letter in a typical British-style red pillar box, still upright amongst the ruins. Courtenay poses alongside the box too. The camera pans around the wrecked town.

Australian troops on a jetty look across a narrow stretch of water to four LVTs moving towards the opposite shore (Hamilton Peninsula?). The shore is under bombardment and a single ship gives supporting fire.

LCI with the camera onboard approaches a tree-lined shore and a man on the beach signals with flags. Numerous men are established on the beach (location unknown, although almost certainly still Labuan).

Australian troops and Courtenay drink tea in camp. A large banner behind states: 'War Services - Salvation Army in Association with Australian Comfort Fund'.

Bare-chested Australian gunners pose by a 25 pounder gun and are seen in action, under camouflage netting. A bombed village and another raising of a Union Flag (in the same 'Mount Suribachi' style as previously seen). CU of Australian soldiers waving their hats. The camera, from a moving vehicle, shows Australian troops and vehicles moving along a dusty road.

Pan of tented area with sign 'GOC - no entrance ADC' (presumably Major-General Wootten's HQ on Labuan). In a large open area, a seated military audience listen to an officer as he points to a map pinned on the side of a building.

A large Union Flag is seen strung between trees. A sign in front states 'BBCAU Hospital' (British Borneo Civil Affairs Unit). Australian soldiers pose in front of the flag.

Several poorly framed shots of injured locals (some on stretchers). A tented village of refugees, showing women and children. Some young girls smile at the camera, but most adults look severe. A large group of local men seated in camp. Women and children wash clothes and a local with a bandaged head accepts a cigarette from an Australian soldier. Further scenes of Australians with locals in camp. Small boys at the water's edge smile at the camera and some families pose.

Several CU shots of Major-General G F Wootten, commanding 9th Division, as he speaks to the camera.

Wounded Australian soldiers are carried from an ambulance jeep. 25 pdrs in action with bare-chested gunners loading and firing.

A small group of dishevelled Japanese prisoners are seen behind wire, guarded by Australians.

On board a moving craft just off shore, the camera surveys a damaged Tank Landing Craft. Naked men on board an MTB wash themselves on deck, using buckets. The camera ship (on board another MTB) keeps pace with the MTB as it moves off. Anchored ships are seen all around.

The two MTBs manoeuvre at speed in more open water, the rear-mounted Bofors gun of the camera craft firing tracers towards shore. The MTBs come alongside local fishermen in a canoe who are hailed via an interpreter (?) using a megaphone.

A Catalina lands on a dirt runway (C 47s parked to the side) and taxies to a halt. Two Curtis Warhawks stand parked and Australians pose in front. Crew pose in front of the parked Catalina (one with a puppy), while in the background four ground crew test undercarriage (?) by standing on starboard wing.

Bulldozers and other earth-moving equipment level ground to create a landing strip.

Production Credits

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